Pre-wrapped box

ABSTRACT

A pre-wrapped gift box comprises a decorative wrapping sheet and first and second box sections operatively attached to the wrapping sheet. The box sections are positioned on the sheet in registration with and adjacent each other and are spaced apart a distance which enables one box section to receive the other box section without buckling or otherwise adversely affecting the smooth surface of the wrapping sheet upon the swinging of the sections toward each other. The box sections may be provided with diagonal fold lines so located as to enable each of the walls of the box sections to be folded downwardly toward the wrapping sheet. With this structure the assembly is readily formed into a compact flattened package adapted for shipping and storage. Preferably the box sections are rectangular in shape and are composed of a stiff but collapsible material such as paperboard.

0 United States Patent 1 3,679,120

Rubin [45] July 25, 1972 PRE-WRAPPED BOX 3,460,738 8/1969 Adams et al..229/87 M [72] Inventor: gland: Stgrgfn llgagisn, 69 W. 95th St.,Primary Examiner koben Reeves Assistant Examiner-Larry Martin [22]Filed: N v, 26, 1969 Attorney-Gottlieb, Rackman & Reisman [2]] Appl.No.: 879,991 7 ABSTRACT A pre-wrapped gift box comprises a decorativewrapping sheet 229/41 229/87 R and first and second box sectionsoperatively attached to the [51] Int. ..B65d 65/12 wrapping sheet. Thebox sections are positioned on the sheet [58] Field of Search..229/38-41 R, 28 R, in registration with and adjacent each other andare spaced 229/23 BT, 14 BL, 87 R, 87 M, 87 A, 87 S, 44, 23 apart adistance which enables one box section to receive the A, 40, 32, 41 Rother box section without buckling or otherwise adversely affecting thesmooth surface of the wrapping sheet upon the [56] Referen es Citedswinging of the sections toward each other. The box sections may beprovided with diagonal fold lines so located as to ena- UNITED STATESPATENTS ble each of the walls of the box sections to be foldeddownwardly toward the wrapping sheet. With this structure 3,458,1127/1969 Nelson ..229/40 the assembly is readily formed into a compactflattened 3,559,876 2/1971 Conesco ..229/87 R 2 438 509 3/1 948 M Gpackage adapted for shipping and storage. Preferably the box 3276662[0/1966 iqsgz sections are rectangular in shape and are composed of astiff 3,434:645 3/1969 Prisco ..229/87 R x but mnaps'ble mama} such aspaperboard' 3,443,739 5/1969 Adams, Jr ..229/87 M X 4 Claims, 9 DrawingFigures PATENFEEJULZS I972 SHEET 1 BF 2 FIG. 2

FIG. 3

INVENTOR H V TURH RUB/N ATTORNEY PRE-WRAPPED BOX The present inventionrelates generally to decorative wrappings for boxes, and specifically toa unique pre-wrapped gift box assembly.

One custom which continues unaffected is that of decorating packageswhich contain goods to be presented as a gift. This custom flourishesduring certain holiday seasons at which time gift giving increases, butit is also followed on other festive occasions which occur at randomintervals during the year. To date the most common manner of decoratinga gift package is to separately purchase decorative wrapping paper, andto apply this paper to the outer surface of a standard box in which thepurchased goods are received. The application of the paper to the box isachieved by the use of adhesive materials such as tape, ornamentalstickers, or the like. This somewhat tedious process continues to becarried out by the consumer for want of a satisfactory pre-wrapped giftbox.

Department stores are particularly troubled by the difficultiesencountered in providing a gift wrapped package to the purchaser.Personnel must be hired solely to do the wrapping, the wrapping takestime, the personnel involved are usually not highly motivated, thecustomer frets at the necessarily long waiting periods, and valuablespace must be set aside for the wrapping operation. The cost in moneyand lost good will and selling opportunity is extremely high.

In order to overcome the length of time generally required to gift wrapa package by conventional techniques, some prewrapped gift boxes havebeen developed. These pre-wrapped boxes vary in form; usually one partof a box is covered with a wrapping sheet which is adhesively secured tothat part of the box. Thus, the upper box section or cover may beprewrapped with a decorative sheet of paper and then placed over thelower box section in an overlapping engagement. No decorative paper isapplied to the surface of the lower box section and therefore theoverall effect is quite inadequate and somewhat artificial. To avoidthis disadvantageous feature, other pre-wrapped gift boxes have beendeveloped to include wrapping paper on all surfaces. Thus a folded blankincluding attached wrapping paper has been tried. That blank must becarefully erected and formed into a container and thereafter the goodsinserted and the wrapping paper secured in place. That pre-wrappedassembly has not been commercially successful, primarily because it isuseful only with a specific type of box. Furthermore the time ofassembly is excessive, often exceeding that required to conventionallywrap a box.

It is the primary object of this invention, therefore, to provide aunique pre-wrapped box which is characterized by its simplicity ofconstruction and of method required to form a completely wrapped packagetherefrom.

It is another object of this invention to provide a prewrapped box whichmay be assembled into its finally wrapped condition in a minimum of timeand still maintain the desired appearance of a conventionally wrappedpackage.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a prewrappedgift box which may be readily stored and shipped without damage to thewrapping sheet which is attached thereto and without taking up anyexcess space.

The aforementioned difficulties are overcome and the above objects aresatisfied by a simple and economical pre wrapped box which comprises awrapping sheet and first and second box sections positioned adjacenteach other on and operatively connected to the wrapping sheet. Each boxsection is provided with colaterally projecting end and side walls whichare interconnected to each other and are operatively connectedrespectively to a bottom wall on the first box section, and to a topwall on the second box section. The first box section is adapted to bereceived by the second box section when the sections are swung towardeach other. When the box sections are so swung the side and end walls ofthe second box section telescope into the side and end walls of thefirst box section in a conventional manner, thereby to form a container.

Since both box sections are operatively attached to the wrapping sheet,as by adhesive, the wrapping sheet is carried with the box sections whenthey are swung into an overlapping engagement. In order to ensure thatproper overlapping engagement of the box sections occurs withoutwrinkling or shearing the wrapping sheet, the box sections must beprecisely positioned adjacent each other on the wrapping sheet. Forexample, these sections must be positioned substantially in registrationon the sheet and must be spaced apart a distance not substantially lessthan the effective height of one of the end and side walls and less thantwice that effective height. This spaced distance is measured betweenthe closest adjacent edges of the top and bottom walls prior to theassembly of the box sections. With this arrangement the first boxsection may readily be swung directly into the second box sectionwithout shifting the box sections laterally relative to each other.Furthermore, this spacing of the box sections ensures that the wrappingsheet which is affixed to the box sections is not buckled, sheared orotherwise adversely affected during the assembly process.

In order that the pre-wrapped box assembly be stored and shipped withoutdamage, each box section may be provided with fold means which enablesthe side and end walls thereof to be folded downwardly onto the top andbottom walls respectively. When flattended into this condition, thefirst and second box sections may be swung into overlying engagement toform a compact package readily adapted to be stored and shipped. Forthis purpose the first box section is provided with diagonal fold linesextending upwardly from the intersection points of the side, end, andbottom walls. In the first box section these diagonal fold lines areplaced in the end walls, so that they may be folded downwardly andoutwardly relative to the bottom wall and the side walls of the firstsection may be folded downwardly and inwardly onto the bottom wall. Inthe second box section the diagonal fold lines are provided in the sidewalls, thereby enabling the end walls to be folded downwardly andinwardly onto the top wall and to permit the side walls to be foldeddownwardly and outwardly away from the top wall. With this specific foldarrangement a minimum thickness dimension is obtained when the twofolded box sections are swung into overlying engagement during theirstorage condition.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention the box sections arecomposed of a stiff but collapsible material such as paperboard or thelike. The wrapping sheet may be composed of any suitable decorativematerial such as the conventionally employed wrapping paper, or asuitable fabric. Preferably the box sections are rectangular in shape,and are positioned on the wrapping sheet with the elongated side wallspositioned adjacent each other. This latter arrangement enables aminimum thickness flattened package to be achieved when the box sectionsare swung on top of one another for storage purposes.

To the accomplishment of the above, and to such other objects as mayhereinafter appear, the present invention relates to a pre-wrapped boxas defined in the appended claims and as described in the accompanyingdrawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of an opened-out but non-erected pre-wrappedbox with the side and end walls of each box section in a foldedcondition;

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view of the pre-wrapped box taken on line 22of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view of the pre-wrapped box taken on line3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of the pre-wrapped box taken on line 44of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the pre-wrapped box of FIG. 1,folded into a storage condition;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the pre-wrapped box of the inventionwith side and end walls erected just prior to final assembly;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view on a reduced scale of the prewrapped box ofFIG. 7 after the completion of the assembly;

FIG. 8 is a cross sectional view of the assembled prewrapped box takenon line 8-8 of FIG. 7; and

FIG. 9 is a cross sectional view of the assembled prewrapped box takenon line 9-9 of FIG. 7.

Referring to the drawings, a pre-wrapped box 10 is best illustrated inFIG. 6. As there shown, the pre-wrapped box 10 comprises a first boxsection 12 and a second box section 14 both of which are operativelyattached to a wrapping sheet 16, as by means of adhesive. The first boxsection 12 comprises a bottom wall 18, erected side walls 20 and erectedend walls 22. Similarly the second box section 14 comprises a top wall24, erected side walls 26 and erected end walls 28. The prewrapped box10 is shown in FIG. 6 just prior to the telescoping engagement of boxsections 12 and 14. As illustrated, box section 14 telescopicallyreceives box section 12 in a conventional manner to enclose a spanbetween bottom wall 18 and top wall 24 and between the side and endwalls 20, 26 and 22, 28. When the box sections are fully telescoped tothe condition illustrated in FIG. 7, the side walls 26 overlap the sidewalls 20 and the end walls 28 overlap the end walls 22. FIG. 6 shows apartial overlap of lower side wall 26 and one side wall 20.

In order that the assembly of the box sections occur in a minimum oftime, and in order that the wrapping paper 16 be smoothly formed aboutthe surfaces of the walls of the box sections as shown in FIG. 7, thespacing between box sections 12 and 14 on the wrapping sheet 16 iscarefully determined.

when the box sections 12 and 14 are attached to the wrapping sheet 16.Referring to FIG. 1, this spacing is designated by the letter d and ismeasured between the edge 30 of the top wall 24, and the edge 23 of thebottom wall 18. This distance d is substantially equal to the effectiveheight of one of the end or side walls of the box sections. Thus, thedistance d may be substantially equal to the distance h which isillustrated in FIGS. 1 and 6 as being the effective erected height ofthe side wall 20 and end wall 22 of box section 12 or to the distance hwhich is here shown as being the effective erected height of the sidewall 26 and end wall 28 of the box section 14, whichever is the greater.

The specific dimension d should not vary to any appreciable degree fromthe values above mentioned by any great amount, unless the box isspecifically designed to hold a product the thickness of which isgreater than the dimension [1 or h, in which case the dimension d shouldcorrespond to that thickness. This thickness will however be less thantwice the distance 11 or h in order that the box sections 12 and 14 beassembled into telescoping engagement. If the dimension d is too large,non-uniformity of the surface of the wrapping sheet 16 will result, i.e.buckling and wrinkling when the box sections 12 and 14 are placed intheir final positions. If the distance dis substantially less than theabove mentioned values then the side walls 20 and 22 will interfere witheach other when the box is erected. As the drawings show, in thepreferred embodiment the distance d is slightly greater than 11' inorder to facilitate the manipulation of the box sections duringassembly, thereby minimizing the possibility of overstressing andtearing the thin wrapping sheet 16.

FIGS. 1 to illustrate the box sections 12 and 14 as positioned on thewrapping sheet 16 prior to the erected assembly positions depicted inFIGS. 6 and 7. In FIG. 1 it will be noted that the end walls 22 of boxsection 12 are folded downwardly and outwardly with respect to thebottom wall 18. The side walls 20 of this box section are foldeddownwardly and inwardly onto the bottom wall 18. Conversely, the endwalls 28 of the box section 14 are folded downwardly and inwardly on tothe bottom wall 24 while the side walls 26 of this box section arefolded downwardly and outwardly away from the top wall 24. Thisparticular folding arrangement is provided so that when the box sections12 and 14 are rotated into overlying engagement as shown in FIG. 5, acompact package results. With the particular folding arrangementillustrated the walls of one box section do not abut against those ofthe other box section. For example, since the side walls 26 of boxsection 14 are folded onto the wrapping sheet 16, they present nosubstantial thickness dimension as shown in FIG. 4. The

thickness dimension resulting from the side walls is essentially that ofthe folded side walls 20 of box section 12 (FIGS. 4 and 5). If both sidewalls 20 and 26 were folded downwardly and inwardly onto the bottom wall18 of the top wall 24 respectively, a greater thickness dimension wouldresult when the rotated engagement occurs since these walls would abut.The same holds true for the specific manner of folding the end walls 22and 28. Thus, a comparison of FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate that the onlythickness dimension which results from the engagement of the boxsections 12 and 14 when in the condition illustrated in FIG. 5 is thatof the end wall 28 in its overlapped condition of FIG. 2.

In order to effect the folding arrangement described, each box sectionis provided with diagonal fold lines extending in a prescribed directionfrom the intersection points of the walls of that box section. Forexample, in FIG. 1, the box section 12 has four points 25 at theintersections of the bottom, side and end walls 18, 20 and 22. Diagonalfold lines 27 are formed in the end walls 22 and project outwardly fromthe intersecting points 25 to the outer edge 29 of these end walls 22.These fold lines 27 permit the simultaneous folding of the side walls 20and the end walls 22, as shown. The second box section 14 is providedwith diagonal fold lines 31 in its side wall 26 which extend upwardlyfrom corresponding intersection points 25. These diagonal fold lines 31extend to the outer edge 33 of the side walls 26. To assist the foldingoperation, additional fold lines 35 and 37 may be formed at the outeredges of the walls 24 and 18 respectively in conventional manner.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the described manner of folding the walls ofthe box sections enables the outer edges 29 of end walls 22 in boxsection 12 to project beyond the edge 41 of wrapping sheet 16. Theprojecting end walls 22 thereby provide a gripping means whereby thefolded assembly of FIG. 5 may readily be inserted into or taken from astorage shelf, without having to grasp the relatively flimsy anddelicate sheet 16.

The box sections 12 and 14 may be operatively attached to the wrappingsheet 16 by means of a suitable adhesive material 32 as shown in FIGS.2, 3, and 4. The adhesive is interposed between the box sections and thewrapping sheet 16 at suitable locations, typical such locations beingdesignated 32. This condition minimizes the possible tearing or rippingof the wrapping sheet. Only that amount of adhesive which is sufficientto hold the box sections to the sheet is required, since the boxsections are normally stored and shipped in the condition illustrated inFIG. 5.

Referring again to FIGS. 6 through 9, the wrapping paper 16 may be of asize sufiicient to include an extended section 34 which extends beyondthe side wall 26 of box section 14. This section 34 may be provided witha suitable adhesive material 36 which is shown in FIG. 1. A releasepaper (not shown) may be placed over the adhesive material as aprotective covering. When the box sections are placed into overlappingengagement as illustrated in FIG. 7, the extended section 34 isadhesively secured to the lower surface 38 of the wrapping sheet 16 asshown in FIG. 9. This particular over lapping section 34, although notnecessary to the proper assembly of the box, is desirable since itfacilitates the final attachment of that section of the wrapping sheetto the box and is effective to impart a finished appearance whichconvincingly detracts from the artificial pre-wrapped look whichcharacterizes prior art devices.

The wrapping sheet 16 may also be sized to provide projecting sections40, 42 which extend beyond the end walls 22 and 28 respectively of thebox sections. These projecting sections may be dimensioned so as toprovide either a butt or lap joint 44 when finally assembled on the boxsections as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. An adhesive material similar to thatindicated by the numeral 36 in FIG. 1, but not shown in FIG. 7, may alsobe applied to the inside surface of these projecting sections 40 and 42so that they may be conveniently attached to the end wall 28 of the boxsection 14. Any other manner of adhesively securing any of the wrappingsheet sections herein described is also acceptable and the invention isnot limited to the manner of adhesion described.

From the foregoing it will be appreciated that the prewrapped box of theinvention is simple and economical. The attachment of both box sectionsto a wrapping sheet in a position which enables the box sections to bequickly swung into telescoping engagement facilitates the assemblyprocess, and renders the pre-wrapped box highly desirable for use insituations such as a department store gift wrapping service. Inaddition, the ability of the box sections to be folded in a specificmanner enables the pre-wrapped box to be stored and shippedconveniently, stacked and taking up a minimal amount of space, whileminimizing the possibility of damage to the wrapping sheet. Thus, thepre-wrapped box may readily be commercially sold as a unit at any retailoutlet.

Purely by way of example, the fold means if included may be any suitablearrangement of fold lines effective to flatten the box sections. Thusthe fold means need not comprise diagonal fold lines as shown but mayinstead comprise perpendicularly positioned fold lines in the end andside walls. These lines would tend to square off" the box sections intheir flattened condition. The side and end walls may be separated attheir joints when flattened and interconnected by tabs or suitableconnecting means when erected. In addition, the box sections need not berectangular in shape but may be round or irregularly shaped, if desired.These and other modifications may be made in the disclosed embodiment,all without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in thefollowing claims.

I claim:

I. A collapsed pre-wrapped box assembly adapted to be erected into agift box with the appearance of being handwrapped, the assemblycomprising:

a. a substantially rectangular wrapping sheet,

b. a flat-folded erectible first box section including a first basewall, a pair of side walls each foldably connected to the first basewall along fold lines, and a pair of end walls each foldably connectedto the first base wall along other fold lines,'said side walls and endwalls being substantially parallel to the first base wall and beingswingable to erect positions,

c. a flat-folded erectible second box section separate from the firstbox section, said second box section including a second base wall, apair of side walls each foldably connected to the second base wall alongfold lines, and a pair of end walls each foldably connected to thesecond base wall along other fold lines, said side walls and end wallsbeing substantially parallel to the second base wall and being swingableto erect positions, the side walls of the second box section beingflat-folded inwardly and the side walls of the first box section beingflat-folded outwardly, the box sections being complimentarily configuredto be telescoped within one another when erected,

d. adhesive means fixing at least one of the box sections to thewrapping sheet so that an edge of said one box section is parallel to anedge of the wrapping sheet,

e. the first box section being situated over and in registry with thesecond box section to form a stacked array of box sections, one sideedge of the first box section being situated substantially directly overone side edge of the second box section to form a common edge at oneside of said array and the other side of the first box section beingsituated beyond the other side edge of the second box section to formanother edge at the other side of the ary,

f. the wrapping sheet enveloping both box sections of the array andbeing folded on itself along one crease line immediately adjacent thecommon edge of said array and along another crease line at said anotheredge of said array, said crease lines constituting crease lines of thewrapping sheet when wrapped about a fully erected gift box, the wrappingsheet being otherwise free of crease lines that would be visiblysituated at positions other than edges of the gift box when the box 1sfully erected and wrapped.

2. A collapsed pre-wrapped box assembly as set forth in claim 1 whereinthe adhesive means fixes both box sections to the wrapping sheet.

3. A collapsed pre-wrapped box assembly as set forth in claim 1 whereinthe end walls of one box section are fiatfolded inwardly and the endwalls of the other box section are flat-folded outwardly.

4. A collapsed pre-wrapped box assembly as set forth in claim 3 whereinone end edge of the wrapping sheet is substantially coincident with anedge of one of the box sections.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent N 3,679,120 Dated July 25 1972 lnventofls) Marion Sturm Rubin It is certifiedthat error appears in the above-identified patent and that said LettersPatent are hereby corrected as shown below:

On the cover sheet ['72] "Marion Sturm Rubin, .69 W. 95th St. Brooklyn,N. Y. 10025" should read Marion Sturm Rubin,

65 West 95th St., New York, N. Y. 10025 This certificate supersedesCertificate of Correction issued December l9';"1972.

Signed and sealed this 25th day of June 1974.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.PLETCHER,JR. C. MARSHALL DANN. Attesting Officer Commissionerof Patents FORM Po-1050 (10-69) USCOMM-DC 60376-P69 v U.S. GOVERNMENTPRINTING OFFICE: I969 03B6-334,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE QTHICATE 0F COECTIN Patent No. 3 679,120Dated Julv 25, 1972 Inventor(s) Marion Sturm Rubin It is certified thaterror appears in the above-identified patent and that said LettersPatent are hereby corrected as shown below:

On the cover sheet [72] "69 West 95th Street", should read 65 West 95thStreet Signed and sealed this 19th day of December 1972.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.FLETCHER,JR. ROBERT GOTTSCHALK- Attesting Officer Commissionerof Patents USCOMM-DC flO376-P69 u.s. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE meno-sea-au.

F ORM PO-1050 (10-69)

1. A collapsed pre-wrapped box assembly adapted to be erected into agift box with the appearance of being hand-wrapped, the assemblycomprising: a. a substantially rectangular wrapping sheet, b. aflat-folded erectible first box section including a first base wall, apair of side walls each foldably connected to the first base wall alongfold lines, and a pair of end walls each foldably connected to the firstbase wall along other fold lines, said side walls and end walls beingsubstantially parallel to the first base wall and being swingable toerect positions, c. a flat-folded erectible second box section separatefrom the first box section, said second box section including a secondbase wall, a pair of side walls each foldably connected to the secondbase wall along fold lines, and a pair of end walls each foldablyconnected to the second base wall along other fold lines, said sidewalls and end walls being substantially parallel to the second base walland being swingable to erect positions, the side walls of the second boxsection being flatfolded inwardly and the side walls of the first boxsection being flat-folded outwardly, the box sections beingcomplimentarily configured to be telescoped within one another whenerected, d. adhesive means fixing at least one of the box sections tothe wrapping sheet so that an edge of said one box section is parallelto an edge of the wrapping sheet, e. the first box section beingsituated over and in registry with the second box section to form astacked array of box sections, one side edge of the first box sectionbeing situated substantially directly over one side edge of the secondbox section to form a common edge at one side of said array and theother side of the first box section being situated beyond the other sideedge of the second box section to form another edge at the other side ofthe array, f. the wrapping sheet enveloping both box sections of thearray and being folded on itself along one crease line immediatelyadjacent the common edge of said array and along another crease line atsaid another edge of said array, said crease lines constituting creaselines of the wrapping sheet when wrapped about a fully erected gift box,the wrapping sheet being otherwise free of crease lines that would bevisibly situated at positions other than edges of the gift box when thebox is fully erected and wrapped.
 2. A collapsed pre-wrapped boxassembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein the adhesive means fixes bothbox sections to the wrapping sheet.
 3. A collapsed pre-wrapped boxassembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein the end walls of one boxsection are flat-folded inwardly and the end walls of the other boxsection are flat-folded outwardly.
 4. A collapsed pre-wrapped boxassembly as set forth in claim 3 wherein one end edge of the wrappingsheet is substantially coincident with an edge of one of the boxsections.